Script generation engine and mapping semantic models for target platform

ABSTRACT

The present invention is an installation script generation engine. An application component distribution system can include a repository of semantic models for interdependent ones of application components. A mapping of individual listings in the semantic models to target platform specific installation instructions further can be included. Finally, a script generation engine can be configured to produce a target specific set of instructions for a specified application component based upon a mapping of at least one of the semantic models in the repository. Notably, each of the semantic models can include a listing of component relationships, target platform requirements and platform neutral installation instructions. Moreover, the component relationships can include at least one component relationship selected from the group consisting of a containment relationship, a usage relationship, a contradiction relationship, and an equivalence relationship. Finally, a Web services interface to the repository can be configured to permit remote access to the repository.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Statement of the Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of application componentdistribution, and more particularly to the target platform neutralmanagement of application component requirements during the installationof an application component.

Description of the Related Art

Though often overlooked, application installation is a prerequisite tointeracting with a software application. Specifically, in mostcircumstances, an application can be properly executed only subsequentto the completion of a successful installation process. At the minimum,a typical software application installation requires a transfer of filesto the file structure of a computing system, and the configuration ofthe computing system to particularly interact with the softwareapplication. Ordinarily, the configuration of the computing systemincludes the addition or modification of registry settings, the additionor modification of entries to one or more initialization files, or both.

In the context of an application installation meant to upgrade thecomponents of an application, oftentimes, simply replacing applicationout-dated versions of application components with newer versions ofcomponents will not alone suffice as a complete application upgrade.Rather, in an era of code re-use, shared libraries, and interdependentprogram objects, replacing a single application component can have adramatic effect upon other separate, but independent applications.Common disastrous consequences include altered and now incompatibleapplication programming interfaces (APIs), re-positioned applicationobjects, and removed application objects. In all cases, an applicationdependency can be broken simply by upgrading the application componentsof another, unrelated application.

Whereas application component upgrades can be problematic generally, inan autonomic system, the problem can be particularly acute. For theuninitiated, autonomic computing systems self-regulate, self-repair andrespond to changing conditions, without requiring any conscious efforton the part of the computing system operator. To that end, the computingsystem itself can bear the responsibility of coping with its owncomplexity. The crux of autonomic computing relates to eight principalcharacteristics:

I. The system must “know itself” and include those system componentswhich also possess a system identify.II. The system must be able to configure and reconfigure itself undervarying and unpredictable conditions.III. The system must never settle for the status quo and the system mustalways look for ways to optimize its workings.IV. The system must be self-healing and capable of recovering fromroutine and extraordinary events that might cause some of its parts tomalfunction.V. The system must be an expert in self-protection.VI. The system must know its environment and the context surrounding itsactivity, and act accordingly.VII. The system must adhere to open standards.VIII. The system must anticipate the optimized resources needed whilekeeping its complexity hidden from the user.

Thus, in keeping with the principles of autonomic computing, theinstallation of application components must not only account for theseamless installation and configuration of the application components,but also the impact of the installation upon existing applications inthe target platform. Moreover, it can be important that dependenciesrequired for the nominal operation of the application components existwithin the target platform, or can be accessed from the target platform.Finally, it can be critical that the infrastructure provided by thetarget platform, including its computing resources, meets the resourcerequirements of the application components. Hence, it will be ofparamount concern to the autonomic system that the target platformitself will not become “broken” in consequence of the installation ofthe application components.

Presently, several application upgrade strategies exist. One suchwell-known strategy includes the venerable “ReadMe” file. In thisstrategy, software developers provide a list, typically as standardprose, of components in the application which are to be installed, therequired pre-requisite components and any resource requirements to beprovided by the target platform. Subsequently, during installation, anapplication administrator can peruse the contents of the list todetermine the nature of the component installation. As it will berecognized by one skilled in the art, however, the creation and use of aconventional ReadMe file can be both tedious and unreliable.

It will also be well understood by those skilled artisans that automatedmethods exist at least to remediate the tedium associated with theconventional ReadMe file. Specifically, various programming tools havebeen developed through which application component dependencies can beidentified among system elements. Prior to any installation effort, theprogramming tool can be executed so as to determine the risk ofundertaking the application installation. Still, this process lacks thegranularity necessary to definitively assess the changing nature ofdependencies. Moreover, modern automated methods are target platformspecific. As a result, modern automated methods remain product levelsolutions which are ill-suited for the “write once run anywhere” natureof modern enterprise computing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention addresses the deficiencies of the art in respectto application component distribution and provides a novel andnon-obvious method, system and apparatus for generating a targetspecific installation script for installing an application componentfrom a platform neutral semantic model for the application component.

In a preferred aspect of the invention, an application componentdistribution system can include a repository of semantic models forinterdependent ones of application components. A mapping of individuallistings in the semantic models to target platform specific installationinstructions further can be included. Finally, a script generationengine can be configured to produce a target specific set ofinstructions for a specified application component based upon a mappingof at least one of the semantic models in the repository. Notably, eachof the semantic models can include a listing of component relationships,target platform requirements and platform neutral installationinstructions. Moreover, the component relationships can include, but arenot limited to at least one component relationship selected from thegroup consisting of a containment relationship, a usage relationship, acontradiction relationship, and an equivalence relationship. Finally, aWeb services interface to the repository can be configured to permitremote access to the repository.

A script generation engine can be configured for use in either astandalone mode, for instance from fixed media, or in a network modethrough an application component distribution system. The scriptgeneration engine can include a communicative coupling to a repositoryof semantic models for interdependent ones of application componentsconfigured for installation in a target platform. A mapping ofindividual listings in the semantic models to specific installationinstructions for specific target platforms further can be provided, ascan a script composition processor programmed to produce a specific setof instructions for installing a specified one of the interdependentapplication components in a specified one of the target platforms basedupon the mapping. Importantly, each of the semantic models can include,but are not limited to, a listing of component relationships, targetplatform requirements and platform neutral installation instructions. Inthis regard, the component relationships can include, but are notelimited to, at least one component relationship selected from the groupconsisting of a containment relationship, a usage relationship, acontradiction relationship, and an equivalence relationship.

In a method for generating an installation script for installing anapplication component to a specific target platform, the method caninclude retrieving a semantic model for the application component from acommunicatively coupled repository of semantic models. A set ofdependent components required to be present in the specific targetplatform can be determined from the semantic model. Moreover, a set ofresource requirements required to be met by the specific target platformfurther can be determined from the semantic model. Finally, the set ofdependent components and the set of resource requirements can be mappedinto platform specific instructions in a platform specific installationscript.

Notably, a set of platform neutral installation operations further canbe determined from the semantic model. Consequently, the set of platformneutral installation operations can be mapped into the platform specificinstructions as well. Preferably, a set of dependent components can beidentified for the application component and a set of sub-dependentcomponents can be identified for at least one of the dependentcomponents. These steps can be repeated for each dependent andsub-dependent component in a hierarchy of dependent components for theapplication component. Finally, the further determining step can includecomputing a composite set of resource requirements for the applicationcomponent and for the set of dependent components.

Additional aspects of the invention will be set forth in part in thedescription which follows, and in part will be obvious from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The aspectsof the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elementsand combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. It isto be understood that both the foregoing general description and thefollowing detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only andare not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute partof the this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention andtogether with the description, serve to explain the principles of theinvention. The embodiments illustrated herein are presently preferred,it being understood, however, that the invention is not limited to theprecise arrangements and instrumentalities shown, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a script generation enginedisposed within an application component distribution system;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the operation of the scriptgeneration engine of FIG. 1; and,

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a process for generating aninstallation script for use in the application component distributionsystem of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is a script generation system, method andapparatus for use within an application component distribution system.In accordance with the present invention, a model of a set ofinterdependent application components can be created to indicate theinterdependencies there between. The model along with the targetplatform requirements can be recorded in a platform neutral format andstored within a component repository. Subsequently, the platform neutralformat can be mapped to specific installation instructions in a targetplatform specific installation script for a subject applicationcomponent for a specific target platform. In particular, the repositorycan be consulted to identify the target platform requirements for thesubject application component and each dependency in the hierarchy ofdependencies for the subject application component. In this way, priorto installing the subject application component, the composite targetplatform requirements can be evaluated within the script in advance ascan the required dependencies within the target platform.

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a script generation enginedisposed within an application component distribution system. The systemcan include a script generation engine 200 coupled to a source platform150 configured for distributing subject application components 130 toindividual target platform environments 190 over a componentdistribution network 180. In this regard, the target platformenvironments 190 can range from an operating system to an applicationhosted within individual application hosting environment, within adistributed and coordinated network of application hosting environments,or within a cluster of application hosting environments. Additionally,the component distribution network 180 can range from a simple Intranetto a complex data communications network.

The source platform 150 can be coupled to the components 130. Thecomponents can include application logic compartmentalized in one orobjects which can operate within an execution environment such as avirtual machine. As it will be recognized by the skilled artisan, eachof the components 130, can have specific resource requirements withinthe target platform 190, including a minimum amount of accessiblememory, fixed storage and network bandwidth, to name a few.Additionally, each of the components 130 can depend upon the operationof one or more other components 130. For example, a Web applicationserver can depend upon the operation of a database server, and a mailserver can depend upon the availability of a data communications stack.

In as much as the components 130 can have both a set of target platformrequirements and component dependencies, target platform requirements140 can be recorded for each of the components 130 and stored within arepository 120 communicatively associated with the script generationengine 200. Preferably, the target platform requirements 140 can includedeployment target requirements. The component dependencies, bycomparison, can include a specification of the relationship between thecomponents, including their respective ordering, any pre-requisitecomponents required for the operation of other ones of the components,whether certain components are to be excluded from operation during theoperation of other components, and equivalence among components suchthat one component can be interchanged for another.

Through the communicative association between the script generationengine 200 and the repository 120, the repository 120 can be accessed bya script generation process (not shown) in the script generation engine200 based upon a specification of components. Within the repository 120,a model of functional dependencies between components 130 also can bestored. Preferably, the model along with the requirements can beformatted within a markup language with components specified accordingto their respective network addressing scheme. In this way, one familiarwith the schema for the markup language document can readily parse thedocument to identify the hierarchical model of interdependentapplication components and their respective target platformrequirements.

Significantly, a transformation engine 110 further can becommunicatively associated with the script generation engine 200 andcoupled to the repository 120. The transformation engine 110 can resolvemappings between the dependency relationships specified in therepository 120 and actual instructions (not shown) for installing acorresponding one of the components 130 in the target platform 190.Preferably, the transformation engine can generate a markup languageformatted target specific script 160 for a selected set of components170 to be installed in the target platform 190. The script 160 caninclude specific instructions for deploying the components 170 in thetarget platform 190. The instructions not only can identifypre-requisite minimum resources within the target platform 190, but alsothe script can identify dependencies required for the operation of thecomponents 170, interchangeable ones of those dependencies,contradictions between the components 170 and already existingcomponents in the target platform 190, and limitations on usage of oneor more of the components 170.

In further illustration, FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating theoperation of the script generation engine of FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 2,the script generation engine 200 can be communicatively linked to anapplication component 220 subject to the installation script generationprocess of the present invention. The application component 220 candepend upon one or more other components 230, referred to herein as“dependencies”. In this regard, the set of components required for theoperation of the component 220, including the component 220 itself, canbe modeled as a hierarchy of components.

A set of target platform requirements 210 further can be specified forthe application component 220. The target platform requirements 210 caninclude the minimum requisite type and level of resources required forthe operation of the application component 220 within the targetplatform environment. Examples can include a minimal memory and fixedstorage configuration, a minimum processor speed, minimum communicationsbandwidth and the like. A set of platform neutral installationinstructions 270 also can be specified for the application component210. The instructions can include, by way of example, the creation orcopying of a directory or a file, the execution of a script, or theremoval of temporary files. In any case, the script generation engine200 can process the target platform requirements 210, the installationinstructions 270 and the model of the component hierarchy into aplatform neutral semantic model 260 specifying a set of installationinstructions and target platform prerequisites. The semantic model 260can be stored in a repository 250 for subsequent use.

Importantly, the semantic model 260 can describe the interdependentrelationships among the components 220, 230. These relationships caninclude a containment relationship in which one component contains oneor more sub-components which in of themselves can contain sub-componentsand so forth. These relationships further can include a usagerelationship in which a specified component can be functional only inthe presence of another component or components. These relationships yetfurther can include a contradictory relationship in consequence of whichthe installation of one component can disable the operation of one ormore other components in the target platform in addition to anycomponents which enjoy a usage relationship with the components in thetarget platform. Finally, these relationships can include an equivalencerelationship in which two or more components can be consideredinterchangeable in terms of functionality.

It will be recognized by the skilled artisan that the semantic model 260can remain platform independent in that the semantic model can be amarkup language document specifying the relationships through the use ofmarkup language tags defined within a document type definition, andwherein individual components can be referenced within tags by way of auniform identifier. When the application component 220 is to beinstalled to a specific target platform, the semantic model 260 can beretrieved from the repository 250 and transformed into platform specificinstallation instructions in a target specific script 240. Part of theplatform specific installation instructions can include, of course,pre-installation assurances that the target platform can meet thepre-requisite target platform requirements 210 included in the semanticmodel 260.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a process for generating a platformspecific target installation script for use in the application componentdistribution system of FIG. 1. First, prior to producing the platformspecific script, a platform neutral semantic description of theinstallation must be created. In particular, in block 310, the targetplatform requirements can be specified. Subsequently, those componentsupon which the application component directly depends can be storedwithin a repository of platform neutral instructions for installing theapplication component.

Once the platform neutral installation instructions have been stored inthe repository, on demand, the platform neutral installationinstructions can be transformed to platform specific installationinstructions for use in installing the application component to aspecific target platform. In particular, in block 330 a connection canbe established with the repository. In block 340, a set platform neutralinstallation instructions can be retrieved not only for the applicationcomponent and its direct dependencies, but also a set of platformneutral installation instructions can be retrieved for those componentswhich are indirectly required for the operation of the application. Anexample of an indirect dependency in this respect can include thosecomponents upon which a dependency of the application component depends.

In any case, the target platform requirements for the applicationcomponent, the direct dependencies, and the indirect dependencies can beretrieved from the repository in block 350. Importantly, it will berecognized that the target requirements for some of the dependencies andsub-dependencies may vary so that the computing resources of a targetplatform may satisfy the requirements of some of the dependencies andsub-dependencies while the target platform may fail to satisfy therequirements of others of the dependencies and sub-dependencies.Moreover, the very installation and operation of one the dependenciescan consume the resources of the target platform required by others ofthe dependencies.

Consequently, in a preferred aspect of the invention, a greatest commondenominator for each enumerated resource in the target platform can becomputed for non-shared resources and, in general, a total anticipatedconsumption of the resources can be computed. Subsequently, in block 370each of the platform neutral instructions for installing each of thecomponents, dependencies and sub-dependencies can transformed to atarget specific listing of required dependencies, an order ofinstallation, and other dependency relationships. Moreover, the targetplatform requirements further can be written to the target platformspecific script. In both cases, the platform specific instructions canbe formulated through a mapping of the platform neutral instructions inthe repository.

The present invention can be realized in hardware, software, or acombination of hardware and software. An implementation of the methodand system of the present invention can be realized in a centralizedfashion in one computer system, or in a distributed fashion wheredifferent elements are spread across several interconnected computersystems. Any kind of computer system, or other apparatus adapted forcarrying out the methods described herein, is suited to perform thefunctions described herein.

A typical combination of hardware and software could be a generalpurpose computer system with a computer program that, when being loadedand executed, controls the computer system such that it carries out themethods described herein. The present invention can also be embedded ina computer program product, which comprises all the features enablingthe implementation of the methods described herein, and which, whenloaded in a computer system is able to carry out these methods.

Computer program or application in the present context means anyexpression, in any language, code or notation, of a set of instructionsintended to cause a system having an information processing capabilityto perform a particular function either directly or after either or bothof the following a) conversion to another language, code or notation; b)reproduction in a different material form. Significantly, this inventioncan be embodied in other specific forms without departing from thespirit or essential attributes thereof, and accordingly, referenceshould be had to the following claims, rather than to the foregoingspecification, as indicating the scope of the invention.

1.-17. (canceled)
 18. A method for generating an installation script forinstalling an application component to a specific target platform, themethod comprising the steps of: retrieving a semantic model for theapplication component from a communicatively coupled repository ofsemantic models for interdependent ones of application components, thesemantic model including a set of individual listings comprising alisting of component relationships and a listing of target platformrequirements specifying a minimum requisite type and a level ofresources required for operation of the application component on atarget platform; determining from the listing of component relationshipsfrom the set of individual listings in said semantic model, a set ofdependent components upon which the application component depends thatare required to be present in the specific target platform; furtherdetermining from the listing of target platform requirements from theset of individual listings in said semantic model, a set of resourcerequirements required to be met by the specific target platform;computing a total anticipated consumption of the resources required foroperation of the application component on the target platform; and,mapping said set of dependent components and said set of resourcerequirements into platform specific instructions in a platform specificinstallation script.
 19. The method of claim 18, further comprising thesteps of: yet further determining from said semantic model a set ofplatform neutral installation operations; and, further mapping said setof platform neutral installation operations into said platform specificinstructions.
 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the determining stepcomprises the steps of: identifying a set of dependent components forthe application component; and, further identifying a set ofsub-dependent components for at least one of said dependent components.21. The method of claim 20, further comprising the step of repeating theidentifying and further identifying steps for each dependent andsub-dependent component in a hierarchy of dependent components for theapplication component.
 22. The method of claim 18, wherein the furtherdetermining step comprises the step of computing a composite set ofresource requirements for the application component and for said set ofdependent components.
 23. A non-transitory machine readable storagehaving stored thereon a computer program for generating an installationscript for installing an application component to a specific targetplatform, the computer program comprising a routine set of instructionswhen executed cause the machine to perform the steps of: retrieving asemantic model for the application component from a communicativelycoupled repository of semantic models for interdependent ones ofapplication components, the semantic model including a set of individuallistings comprising a listing of component relationships and a listingof target platform requirements specifying a minimum requisite type anda level of resources required for operation of the application componenton a target platform; determining from the listing of componentrelationships from the set of individual listings in said semanticmodel, a set of dependent components upon which the applicationcomponent depends that are required to be present in the specific targetplatform; further determining from the listing of target platformrequirements from the set of individual listings in said semantic model,a set of resource requirements required to be met by the specific targetplatform; computing a total anticipated consumption of the resourcesrequired for operation of the application component on the targetplatform; and, mapping said set of dependent components and said set ofresource requirements into platform specific instructions in a platformspecific installation script.
 24. The non-transitory machine readablestorage of claim 23, further comprising the steps of: yet furtherdetermining from said semantic model, a set of platform neutralinstallation operations; and, further mapping said set of platformneutral installation operations into said platform specificinstructions.
 25. The non-transitory machine readable storage of claim23, wherein the determining step comprises the steps of: identifying aset of dependent components for the application component; and, furtheridentifying a set of sub-dependent components for at least one of saiddependent components.
 26. The non-transitory machine readable storage ofclaim 25, further comprising the step of repeating the identifying andfurther identifying steps for each dependent and sub-dependent componentin a hierarchy of dependent components for the application component.27. The non-transitory machine readable storage of claim 23, wherein thefurther determining step comprises the step of computing a composite setof resource requirements for the application component and for said setof dependent components.
 28. A system for generating an installationscript for installing an application component to a specific targetplatform, comprising: a computer having at least one processor and amemory, the computer comprising program code that when executed causesthe at least one processor of the computer to: retrieve a semantic modelfor the application component from a communicatively coupled repositoryof semantic models for interdependent ones of application components,the semantic model including a set of individual listings comprising alisting of component relationships and a listing of target platformrequirements specifying a minimum requisite type and a level ofresources required for operation of the application component on atarget platform, determine from the listing of component relationshipsfrom the set of individual listings in said semantic model, a set ofdependent components upon which the application component depends thatare required to be present in the specific target platform; furtherdetermine from the listing of target platform requirements from the setof individual listings in said semantic model, a set of resourcerequirements required to be met by the specific target platform, computea total anticipated consumption of the resources required for operationof the application component on the target platform, and map said set ofdependent components and said set of resource requirements into platformspecific instructions in a platform specific installation script.